Trending toppers: What’s new on top of the wedding cake

Cake toppers have been part of the American wedding cake tradition for more than a century, and while marriages have evolved over the years, so have cake toppers.

Cynthia Reyna

Cake toppers have been part of the American wedding cake tradition for more than a century, and while marriages have evolved over the years, so have cake toppers.

While some couples still choose the traditional bride-and-groom toppers, more couples now prefer more self-reflective, whimsical pieces that are sure to get everyone at the reception talking.

After starting his cake toppers business online 10 years ago, Aaron Ellsworth, vice president of sales and marketing of www.caketoppers.com, says wedding toppers have become more personalized over the years. Couples are beginning to veer away from the time-honored plastic figurines that were popular during their parents’ time. Now, they want something that reflects their personalities, hobbies and interests as a couple.

Pastry chef Lorelie Carvey of www.wedding-cakes-for-you.com, who baked her first wedding cake in 1984 and now has her own informational site on wedding cakes, has experienced the same trend from her customers: “More and more brides and grooms are choosing not to have the traditional figurines. A unique or personalized topper is what most brides and grooms want. The most popular are toppers that have some sort of meaning to the couple.”

One of the most popular personalized selections, according to Ellsworth, is the monogram cake topper. These can be customized with full crystal, rhinestones, acrylic, porcelain or glass, to name a few options.

Other trends include ethnic toppers and humorous toppers, such as a couch potato groom figurine, says Ellsworth.

Carvey has also seen some topper choices beginning to trend such as cartoon characters, including Marge and Homer Simpson, and figurines to represent a couple’s pet.

Couples now have hundreds more selections for cake toppers than they did before, thanks to the Internet. At various cake topper sites, options include religious-, career-, music- and hobby-themed toppers, as well as floral ones.

Wedding cake toppers in the U.S. originated in the 19th century, before the Civil War. At that time, toppers consisted only of simple decorations such as flowers or ornaments, until the familiar bride and groom figurines were
introduced in the 1920s, as a symbol of unity. In the late 1920s, Sears, Roebuck & Co. began selling wedding cake toppers the public, which helped boost their popularity in the U.S.

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